Runbook

A runbook is a step-by-step guide for handling a specific, often urgent operational situation, written so anyone can follow it under pressure without thinking it through from scratch. Where an SOP documents a routine process you run regularly, a runbook targets a defined trigger, the payment webhook fails, a customer reports being locked out, the nightly sync errors, and lays out exactly what to check, in what order, and what to do at each branch.

For a lean founder a runbook is how you stop relearning the same fire-drill every time it flares. The first time something breaks you investigate, fix it, and feel the relief. The mistake is not capturing what you just learned. Writing a short runbook the moment after means the second occurrence takes minutes, not hours, and crucially means a contractor or future-you can handle it without you. It converts a stressful one-off rescue into a calm, repeatable procedure.